[IMC-bristol] [Imc-thessaloniki] Invitation to Thessaloniki for the EU summit

[giannis ed]

                                             Social Independent media center

Thessaloniki 2003, June

The independent media center of Thessaloniki greets every imc community. 
Comrades, working for the imc in each place, you may know that the last six 
months the puppets of the Greek government are running the presidency of the 
EU. As it is well spread the last years -at every city where the EU summit 
is held- people are gathering to demonstrate against it and express their 
own views by direct action rallies and other forms of political resistance. 
This time Thessaloniki, in Greece, is the city where the self- declared EU 
leaders are going to take various decisions about the future of the politics 
in Europe. They are meeting to develop their politics of oppression and 
racism, their politics of capitalism, which rule our lives. At the days of 
the summit (19-21 June) thousands of people will get together to expose, by 
all ways and means, their opposition to this authoritarian system.

Us, the editorial collective of IMC Thessaloniki, will participate in the 
demonstrations and at the same time we are willing to set up a space where 
the demonstrators can get informed and inform, a space free from the experts 
of information, free from hierarchy, domination and interference .A space 
that would facilitate the posting and distribution of peoples' /groups' 
experiences and views in order to depict the spirit of the days of the 
protests: what we are talking about is a social independent media center.

  Before we start describing the function of the Social Independent media 
center, we consider that it is useful to give some information about the 
political organizations that have planned actions in the city in June.



The political organizations that will be active during the days of the EU 
summit:

First of all it is useful to elucidate that the place of the summit is not 
located in the city of Thessaloniki but at Porto Caras in Chalkidiki 
peninsula, which is more than one hundred kilometers away from Thessaloniki. 
Therefore the red zone area will not be in the city and the demonstrations 
in the city will not follow the tactics of breaking a zone or disturbing the 
summit- this is not possible! Also it would be impossible to reach the 
summit place in Chalkidiki because of its geographical location.


Here is a brief description of the organizations that will act in 
Thessaloniki.


  The platform << Action Thessaloniki 2003 >>, is organized by the Stalinist 
Communist Greek party and is expected to have a lot of people taking part in 
its demonstrations as the Communists party has a long history in Greece. 
(for more info: http://www.action-salonika2003.org)

The <<Social Forum >> is an umbrella of leftists, NGO, trade unions and 
students. It is expected that a lot of citizens who simply want to go and 
demonstrate but they don’t find an other organization suitable for them will 
join the <<social forum>>. The <<social forum>> has declared that it 
supports the camping of the <<Struggle initiative Thessaloniki 2003 >> at 
the university campus, in the center of the city. On june 19 they organize a 
march in the center of the city about immigration, the next day they are 
going to Chalkidiki and Saturday afternoon they are going to demonstrate in 
the city. http://www.socialforum-media.gr/)



<< Struggle initiative Thessaloniki 2003>> is formed by smaller communist 
parties and  and leftist students organizations as NAR and EAAK Their 
camping will be in the university campus (http://www.thessaloniki2003.org/)


<<Antiauthoritarian Movement Salonika 2003>>, is a platform consisting of 
some anarchist groups from all over the country. Their camping will also be 
at the campus (opening day 14 of June) and they are going to organize an 
antiauthoritarian festival. (http://www.resistance2003.gr)


For more practical information about  transportation, accommodation,  
everyday life in the city , legal and medicine information  and some maps, 
look at the web site http://www.thessaloniki2003.info/en/index.htm

(please link this site  to your links about the EU Summit)





Operation of the SIMC


A)      housing
The SIMC will be situated in a building in the university campus. We have 
not yet reached a conclusive decision about the exact spot, but our 
intention is to put up the SIMC in a building occupied by antiauthoritarian 
– anarchist collectives. The SIMC will begin its operation on june 18 and go 
on until june 22. It will consist of two to three rooms. One of these will 
function as an internet center, accessible by anyone who wishes to access 
the internet, while another will be accessible only to the editorial teams 
of the imc’s, for site administration purposes. There will also be a space 
for the general assembly and a place to store equipment.


B)      technical
In the university campus buildings there are computer rooms quite abundant 
in computers, which we intend to occupy and use for our purposes. As far as 
the telephone connections and the access to the network are concerned, we 
have not yet reached a conclusive solution, even though we have thought out 
several alternatives. Your help and experience in technical matters will 
certainly be very useful. (Bring your laptops!)


C)      principles of operation
The SIMC will be set up, supported and safeguarded by the editorial team of 
imc Thessaloniki, other comrades and by people of other imc’s who agree with 
the SIMC basic principles of operation.



00-    general assembly

As soon as the simc will start its operation, every day at a specified time 
there will be a general assembly of the center. The general assembly will 
consist of the above mentioned people, it will be carried out in English 
with the possibility of translation in other languages, following  the 
principles of direct democracy, antiauthoritarianism and antisexism. All 
issues concerning us those days, practical, safety, ideological etc will be 
discussed in the general assembly. Any problems that may come up will be 
handled by this general assembly, and the assembly will bear the sole 
responsibility and cost for the undertaking.



01-    processing material – respect for the demonstrators’ personality

The demonstrations will be covered with photos and videos, as well as 
articles. Our principal standpoint here is the respect for any person’s or 
collective’s negative opinions. All photos and videos appearing in the 
indymedia websites must be altered so as to conceal the identity of the 
people shown in them. Photos uploaded by other users will be removed from 
the page if the protection of the people portrayed is compromised. Any 
material leaving the SIMC will have to comply to the above principle of 
protection. After the end of the demonstrations, all files in the SIMC 
computers will be destroyed.

02-         financing of the SIMC and distribution of the material

The SIMC will be financed by the people running it and comrades willing to 
support it. We will not ask for money from ngo’s, eu programmes or political 
parties, neither will we accept any funding by those or other institutional 
instances. In addition, material collected in the SIMC (photos, videos etc) 
will only be given to other individuals or groups under the explicit 
condition that if they distribute it they will do it for free and respecting 
the above principle of processing (hidden faces)



03- unmediated character – relationship with institutional and alternative 
media

Indymedia Thessaloniki will promote and take part in the demonstrations and 
action against the EU. Our purpose is to let the demonstrators inform the 
world about the events and actions. We must not let the institutional media 
distort and assimilate the truth and present their commercial propaganda as 
the only version of the facts. It’s up to all of us, through direct, 
immediate reporting from the streets, to distribute through the 
anti-information networks the real message, meaning and aim of the 
demonstrations to the whole planet. We do not desire and will not tolerate 
any relation nor cooperation with the institutional media. Their role and 
their tactics are hostile to us. In june, just as in numerous other 
occasions, they will excel in snitching and distorting the demonstrations. 
Anyone cooperating with them has no place in indymedia. Access to the SIMC 
will be denied to all journalists, cameramen, editors etc related to 
institutional media. Moreover, anyone participating
  in the SIMC must explicitly declare that he/she will not forward SIMC 
information and/or material to the dominant media. Those known to carry out 
such actions are denied our cooperation in advance (see “undercurrents”).

We want to inform and get informed about the actions in which we 
participate. We are not journalists to cover all protests. Everyone’s 
initiative is vital to achieve complete, effective and unmediated 
antiinformation. Take information into our own hands! Cancel the 
institutional media!



We would like you to tell us if you agree with these principles, how you 
judge them, if you have other propositions etc. Your response should cover 
the issues set out by us and your definitive affirmative or negative 
response is important to us. Any cooperation depends on a reasonable degree 
of consent on the principles of operation.

It would be advisable to inform us in time (until june14?) about the exact 
number of people coming to thessaloniki, the equipment you will bring and 
any other special needs/wishes. For security reasons we would like to know 
the exact number of people and their date of arrival in thessaloniki.


Struggle Greetings,

the IMC Thessaloniki collective

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